You gotta have balls
Whilst traveling through Guatemala a few years ago, I couldn't understand why shopkeepers laughed at me every time I asked for eggs: ¿Tiene huevos, por favor? Until one day someone explained to me I was actually asking if the shopkeeper had 'balls'. A less confusing way of asking for eggs is: ¿Hay huevos, por favor?.
Sent by: Simon
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Aren't supermarkets wonderful. No need to ask for anything, just pick what you want off the shelf and take it to the check-out. even the price comes up on the display. But the locals still have the last laugh.
If I say "Grassias" (Phonetic spelling) the girl always responds "Grathias"
If I say "Grathias" the response will be
"Grassias" and I've not yet got one of my Spanish neighbours to explain why.
I'm sure the dialog for eggs in Mexico is huevos, however growing up in South Texas - you never ask for huevos, you ask for blanquillos when refering to eggs. When asking for huevos, your asking for a man's balls. And trust me, you don't want to confuse your waiter when going out to eat at a Tex-Mex establishment. In a Mexian restraunt you can get away with saying huevos, but NOT a Tex-Mex restraunt. Sorry yall, it's not the same.
Thanks, Simon, that happened to me a couple of years ago, and its puzzled me ever since. I asked for huevos and they just left me standing there. I just walked out in the end, head down!
Try to translate the phrase "You will end up with eggs on your face"
I am a legal interpreter and one day the phrase caught me by surprise...
Wow, I'm astonished by some the suggestions. I've lived in Mexico for 15 years, and travelled through much of it, and have never heard people call eggs blanquillos. Inevitably there are jokes (among Mexicans too) about huevos which also means testicles of any kind, but if you were to order blanquillos in most restaurants you would be met by a blank stare. When in Mexico, I advise nervous foreigners to avoid asking for blanquillos (which will peg you for a foreigner as much as your accent will) and follow Simon's advice: say hay huevos, asking if there are any eggs, rather than tienes huevos, or do you have eggs, but which could mean, do you have balls. Or even easier, huevos por favor, eggs please.
One of the best student blunders I've graded on a final exam was the student who said in his essay, "As soon as school is over for the summer, I'm going to the sporting goods store to buy some huevos de golf and play at the golf course." Golf eggs ... sounds messy. ('Golf ball' is pelota de golf).
I am trying very hard to learn Spanish I would have asked in the same way! Thankyou.
I'm soooo enjoying this site, I don't often get a lot of laughs, but you had me "rolling". I travel a lot, but am so afraid to offend that I just stammer in English. They usually get my message, with hand signals. I've had some really odd experiences in Mexico, (experimenting) like "triple" drinks--which I didn't know existed. I guess it's ALL about the tourist! & I say: good for them!
Same with avocados in Cuba and papayas (slang for female private parts, ask for frutas bombas).
Just to be clear, > and > are used to indicate "egg" in Mexico and parts of South America. Normally, context will let you use >. When in a restaurant ordering, >, everyone understands immediately you mean eggs.
However, a woman walking up to a man in a store (or man walking up to a woman), the first implication is you are talking about "testicles."
I do not know how much of C. or S. America this applies to, but it applies often in Mexico.
To further add to the problem, many Anglos intentionally mix up the terms to get laughs, or titillate. So, when others innocently make a mistake, the vulgar meaning is often brought to mind.
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